Wade recruiting mercenaries, says ex-PM

Sall, who is also a former interior minister, told foreign journalists in Dakar that Wade's regime had "recruited mercenaries with bloodstained hands from Ivory Coast, Guinea and Nigeria" to be used to "kidnap opponents and civil society members".

He claimed some 400 of the alleged mercenaries had "entered the national territory through the southern border" which separates Senegal from Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

"The regime only has terror left to maintain it," said Sall, presidential candidate and leader of the Republic Alliance, which was created after the last legislative elections and currently holds no seats in parliament.

Wade's regime is facing growing unrest over crippling power cuts which have led to riots across the country and saw the government deploy extra troops earlier this week.

This followed angry riots on June 23 over the 85-year-old's efforts to change election laws and criticism over his efforts to seek a third term in office.

Wade has since shelved the constitutional revisions which would have added a vice president to the presidential ticket for next year's polls, and dropped the winning threshold for a first-round victory to 25% of votes from the current 50%.

Wade's critics saw the measures as a scheme by the president to avoid a second round of voting and line up his 42-year-old son Karim Wade, already a government minister, for succession.

Comments

Anton - 2011-07-02 05:57

Here we go again...................!!
What is it with many African Presidents, that once they are in power, it is so difficult to step down, after one or two terms ?????
Again, here you got a good man, who has done great things for Senegal, but than after his second term he does not want to go.
He tries to outsmart the same people, that brought him to power.
And than if he can't be president himself , than do what all dictators do, put your son in charge !!
What a shame to end a great political career like this .

Sizwe - 2011-07-02 08:46

@Anton. It is refreshing to hear balanced criticism for once I wish that most commenters on this site could take a page from your book. Keep it up. Criticism should be constructive and balanced and it seems many a people have forgotten that.